By BERNIE ABRAMS
Up a dirt road in the Arkansas
area called Monkey Run, in the
northern central part of the state
near the Missouri border, is a
good place to have four legs. It’s a
20-acre plot of land, Rocky Ridge
Refuge, that some animals might
call heaven if they knew the word.
In some ways it brings to mind
the peaceable kingdom. Looking
around, you might see a llama
nuzzling a dog. Or maybe a zebra, donkey and Nilgai antelope discussing the
unseasonable weather. Or a water buffalo looking for a wet place to wallow.
What you’re also sure to find is the welcoming attitude of Janice Wolf. She came to this
less-than-hospitable plot of land nearly two decades ago from Hawaii, part of a lifelong
journey in which animals have been her constant companions.
“I was an Army brat,” she says, “and lived in a lot of places where there were always
animals that needed rescuing.” The earliest she recalls was when she was three, doing
her best to save a pelican injured near her home in Key West, Florida.
“After that, there were baby birds, rabbits and other little creatures in distress,” she says.
Growing up, she studied in several schools, most notably pet therapy in Arkansas State
University “for the reason that Arkansas was where my father had his roots,” and worked
for some years elsewhere as a veterinary technician.
She became interested in alternative medicinal treatments, herbal use and other
unconventional therapies during those years of traveling, working and studying,
gradually gravitating back to Arkansas “because there was more space and just as much
need.”
Partially through veterinary referrals but mainly by word of mouth, Wolf started getting
information about animals needing rescuing and bringing them to the refuge for
rehabilitation.
One of the more satisfying R&R animals is a horse who came to the Rocky Ridge with a
broken knee, an injury that is usually handled with suspension and immobilization
following surgery. “He was a good candidate for alternative treatment,” Wolf recalls, “and
with a combination of therapy, nutrition and later gentle exercise he gradually came back.
These days, he runs free and is a pleasure to watch.”
Along with the more exotic creatures that now call Rocky Ridge their retirement
community, including a mini Zebu and an African watusi steer, are the dogs and cats that
form the majority of refuge residents. Wolf says they “usually number between 40 and 50,
since I keep making good placements with the dogs and cats. That also happens
through word of mouth and through Petfinder, which is a wonderful service.”
The refuge would be a much quieter place if it weren’t for Lurch. He is the star of the
refuge’s website, www.rockyridgerefuge.com. Lurch is an 11-year-old African watusi
steer who arrived at the tender age of five weeks and charmed the socks off anyone who
met him.
The thing about Lurch is his horns. They just kept growing. On the 6th of May, 2003, he
was certified by Guinness World Records Ltd. as having the world’s largest horn
circumference at 37 inches. “I don’t know why,” Wolf admits. “He came from Missouri and
his parents were normal in every way.”
Since his horns set the world record, Wolf says, “They have grown another half inch, and
they’re now over seven and a half feet from tip to tip.” And since that time, “Thousands of
people from all over the world have been making their way up my little dirt road just to
look at Lurch.”
She doesn’t mind it, though, noting that “I try to educate the visitors and especially the
kids to see animals in a new way — as feeling, intelligent, loving companions.”
Wolf has also recently formed a loose alliance with another woman in the area who
rescues, rehabilitates and places dogs, with which Arkansas is, she asserts,
overpopulated.
“In terms of puppy mills, Arkansas is one of the worst states in the union,” she says.
“There are just no laws to control the dog population, or to require humane treatment of
the dogs who live in the state. So we just have to go on with what we have.
“At one time, I was working at three different jobs, fixing up the refuge along the way. I’ve
always operated on a shoestring budget, but I have to do what I can. I’ve always felt that
the animals come first and that most of those who end up at the refuge are here for life.
“But I was born to do this,” she said.
And the animals know it, too.
First Published February 2007 in The Animal Companion.
Up a dirt road in the Arkansas
area called Monkey Run, in the
northern central part of the state
near the Missouri border, is a
good place to have four legs. It’s a
20-acre plot of land, Rocky Ridge
Refuge, that some animals might
call heaven if they knew the word.
In some ways it brings to mind
the peaceable kingdom. Looking
around, you might see a llama
nuzzling a dog. Or maybe a zebra, donkey and Nilgai antelope discussing the
unseasonable weather. Or a water buffalo looking for a wet place to wallow.
What you’re also sure to find is the welcoming attitude of Janice Wolf. She came to this
less-than-hospitable plot of land nearly two decades ago from Hawaii, part of a lifelong
journey in which animals have been her constant companions.
“I was an Army brat,” she says, “and lived in a lot of places where there were always
animals that needed rescuing.” The earliest she recalls was when she was three, doing
her best to save a pelican injured near her home in Key West, Florida.
“After that, there were baby birds, rabbits and other little creatures in distress,” she says.
Growing up, she studied in several schools, most notably pet therapy in Arkansas State
University “for the reason that Arkansas was where my father had his roots,” and worked
for some years elsewhere as a veterinary technician.
She became interested in alternative medicinal treatments, herbal use and other
unconventional therapies during those years of traveling, working and studying,
gradually gravitating back to Arkansas “because there was more space and just as much
need.”
Partially through veterinary referrals but mainly by word of mouth, Wolf started getting
information about animals needing rescuing and bringing them to the refuge for
rehabilitation.
One of the more satisfying R&R animals is a horse who came to the Rocky Ridge with a
broken knee, an injury that is usually handled with suspension and immobilization
following surgery. “He was a good candidate for alternative treatment,” Wolf recalls, “and
with a combination of therapy, nutrition and later gentle exercise he gradually came back.
These days, he runs free and is a pleasure to watch.”
Along with the more exotic creatures that now call Rocky Ridge their retirement
community, including a mini Zebu and an African watusi steer, are the dogs and cats that
form the majority of refuge residents. Wolf says they “usually number between 40 and 50,
since I keep making good placements with the dogs and cats. That also happens
through word of mouth and through Petfinder, which is a wonderful service.”
The refuge would be a much quieter place if it weren’t for Lurch. He is the star of the
refuge’s website, www.rockyridgerefuge.com. Lurch is an 11-year-old African watusi
steer who arrived at the tender age of five weeks and charmed the socks off anyone who
met him.
The thing about Lurch is his horns. They just kept growing. On the 6th of May, 2003, he
was certified by Guinness World Records Ltd. as having the world’s largest horn
circumference at 37 inches. “I don’t know why,” Wolf admits. “He came from Missouri and
his parents were normal in every way.”
Since his horns set the world record, Wolf says, “They have grown another half inch, and
they’re now over seven and a half feet from tip to tip.” And since that time, “Thousands of
people from all over the world have been making their way up my little dirt road just to
look at Lurch.”
She doesn’t mind it, though, noting that “I try to educate the visitors and especially the
kids to see animals in a new way — as feeling, intelligent, loving companions.”
Wolf has also recently formed a loose alliance with another woman in the area who
rescues, rehabilitates and places dogs, with which Arkansas is, she asserts,
overpopulated.
“In terms of puppy mills, Arkansas is one of the worst states in the union,” she says.
“There are just no laws to control the dog population, or to require humane treatment of
the dogs who live in the state. So we just have to go on with what we have.
“At one time, I was working at three different jobs, fixing up the refuge along the way. I’ve
always operated on a shoestring budget, but I have to do what I can. I’ve always felt that
the animals come first and that most of those who end up at the refuge are here for life.
“But I was born to do this,” she said.
And the animals know it, too.
First Published February 2007 in The Animal Companion.
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